Urban Exploring
Downtown St. Paul
Starring: Me. So no one, really.
This space has come perilously close to falling into the "sparsely updated" category. I make derisory remarks to some of my friends for allowing their blogs to fall into disrepair, and I would hate to be made a hypocrite.
Lots of things heavy on the mind these days - and isn't that always the case? I've gone about 2 weeks with no time off, but thankfully have run into a few consecutive days of freedom. Needing some solitude and wanting to get some quality run out of the camera, I hit the streets of downtown St. Paul before noon.
One highlight of the journey was the accompaniment of some crackin' new headphones. Seeing as though the conversation would be lacking, I made a small investment in rockitude. The best thing about having huge headphones? People really leave you alone! It's subtle, but today was a day for it.
First up, I found this wall on a building about a block east of Station 4. The color was appreciated, and there's a nice positive message to this one. I was hoping to find some actual tag art today, but this was as close as I got to it.
Stay nice.
From my chosen parking spot, I was within walking distance of three separate parks. Armed with plenty of time, I loosely plotted a route that would take me through all of them.
First up was Mears Park, located on 6th St. I've never driven by, walked through, or been anywhere near this location before as far as I can remember. It was generally lunch-break time for the 9-to-5'ers of St. Paul, so there was a measurable amount of foot traffic. The park itself is gorgeous. I appreciated the shade, as it was hotter than hell outside. It was very obvious by looking at the park that the people charged with maintaining the landscaping take their jobs with the appropriate measure of attention.
One of my favorite pictures of the journey.
Moving along, I spotted an island with a shaded area - a bandshell, perhaps? - from the Robert Street Bridge. I would come to learn that it's known as Raspberry Island. I was king of the island, if only for a few minutes. I don't know why it seemed odd that there were no people here on a day like today, other than the park itself is located a few blocks from any street, which would be prohibitive to some people who are pressed for time.
Rice Park was the third park of the day, and I realized as I approached that I had been here before. I attended a wedding with an ex of mine around this time last year, and the reception was held at the Landmark Center.
I enjoyed myself far more today.
The sunshine caused the water to look bright, blazing white in the photo.
I stopped at Dunn Brothers somewhere downtown, after I had stopped paying attention to navigation. There was a park/walkway/mural a block north as I was heading toward the Capitol building.
As I was about to retire to the car, I saw the dome of the state Capitol in the distance. In a weird moment of clarity, I realized that I've been living in this state for all of my 26 years. I pay tax here, and I vote. And I've never set foot near here in my entire life. Obviously, I was left with no choice but to trudge on and poke around, if only for a short while.
The dome and the sky.
Entrance.
Roof. Wish the lights would have shown up differently. My lens isn't wide-angled enough to really capture how huge it is as you're looking straight up.
Finally, I revisited a small park that I remember from the aforementioned wedding. Just to kill a few more minutes. I think this little detour is responsible for the fact that it was smack-dab in the middle of rush hour by the time I got back to the truck. The lesson, as always? I'm an idiot. Don't listen to me.
Colorful win of the day.
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